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Villanova vs. Georgetown: 5 biggest storylines for first 2020-21 matchup

By Benjamin Zacher

Feb 26, 2020; Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA; Villanova Wildcats forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (24) is defended by St. John's Red Storm forward Marcellus Earlington (10) during the first half at Finneran Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2020; Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA; Villanova Wildcats forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (24) is defended by St. John's Red Storm forward Marcellus Earlington (10) during the first half at Finneran Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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Georgetown
Mar 1, 2020; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Georgetown Hoyas forward Jamorko Pickett (1) shoots against the Xavier Musketeers during the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

The Big East regular season gets underway today, with a match-up between rivals Georgetown and Villanova looming large.

After closing out the 2019-20 Big East regular season against each other in an extremely competitive outing, the Villanova Wildcats and Georgetown Hoyas will tip-off the 2020-21 conference season on Friday night in what could potentially be another thrilling showdown between longtime rivals.

The Hoyas (2-2) have had an up-and-down start to this year, having picked off a solid UMBC team to start the season before collecting an ugly loss to Navy.  They followed that up with an optimistic showing against a nationally-ranked West Virginia in a game that Georgetown led in with seven minutes left, before falling, 80-71.

They are coming off their most convincing win of the season over Coppin State (80-48) – and, as expected, this has been a challenging year for Patrick Ewing.  After a tumultuous offseason, Georgetown has returned just 36.8% of the scoring from last year’s 15-17 squad – but there have been some bright spots for the Hoyas so far this season.

Seniors Jahvon Blair and Jamorko Pickett have been on a tear in their final campaigns.  Blair has established himself as one of the premier scorers in the Big East, averaging 20.3 points per game, while Pickett is coming off a monster 19-point, 18-rebound double-double over Coppin State, averaging 14.3 points and 10.0 rebounds.  Qudus Wahab has also contributed inside, averaging 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.

The Wildcats (4-1), meanwhile, have reasserted themselves as one of the best teams in all of college basketball after their disappointing overtime loss to Virginia Tech.  With season-opening wins over Boston College and Arizona State under their belt, Villanova dominated Hartford (87-53) at the start of December, and Jay Wright‘s crew are coming off an impressive – and huge – road win over nationally-ranked Texas (68-64).

There were some questions regarding this team entering this season after losing Saddiq Bey, the leading scorer on last year’s 24-7 squad, to the NBA Draft, but – for the most part – the Wildcats have done well to quell those worries.  Jeremiah Robinson-Earl has had a huge part in that, averaging a near double-double with 16.2 points and 9.0 rebounds.

He has not been alone, either.  The triad of Villanova’s guards – Collin Gillespie (14.6), Justin Moore (14.2), and Caleb Daniels (11.6) – have all been instrumental in a Villanova team that has had only nine players see action on the floor.  Jermaine Samuels (6.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg) rounds out one of the best starting fives in the country, and Cole Swider (7.8 ppg) has done well to establish himself as one of the better sixth-men out there.

These two teams met twice last season in Big East play – the first coming on Jan. 11 in a convincing 80-66 win for Villanova.  The second tilt was not until Mar. 7, in one of the final great games of the season.  The Wildcats came away with a 70-69 win – but that match-up’s controversial ending has produced one of the intriguing storylines for this game, so more on that in a bit.

In addition to that game, there are a number of intriguing storylines present for both programs – one that is hoping to cement themselves as the de facto third-best team in the nation, and one that is hoping to find redemption after a disappointing season and an even worse offseason.